Filter Content
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
In what seems like a blink of an eye, we have come to the end of Term 1 for 2019. I hope you found Parent and Teacher meetings last week to be rich, informative opportunities to discuss your child’s learning progress throughout the first term. Teachers will use information gained from these discussions, as well as their own data and observations, to work purposefully towards growth and achievement during term 2 and the rest of 2019.
With Easter falling in the middle of the school holidays, we will finish up this Friday 12th April. During week 11, we will focus on many of the events of Holy Week, which will then be celebrated the following week – the first of the holidays. Given the Liturgical timeframe, classes will celebrate the Joy of the Easter event during the first week back at school. For this reason, I ask that all families refrain from sending Easter eggs to school. As you would be aware, Easter eggs are a symbol of the New Life of the resurrection of Jesus, which Catholics celebrate on Easter Sunday.
I am constantly amazed and impressed with the young people who attend our school. One such person is Evie Pannell. During term one, Evie initiated a fundraising activity to support the efforts of the Australian Refugee Association (ARA). This involved contacting ARA and arranging for a guest speaker to attend our assembly, followed by hosting a cake stall selling products made by herself and her family. The cake stall raised a huge $441. Congratulations to Evie for being such a wonderful young citizen!
During week 8, I had the privilege of attending our year 6 Knockout Cricket match. After a good win in the first round, we came up against a very strong opponent, and while we didn’t get the win, the team were outstanding in their persistence, endeavour and spirit. I was very proud of both the achievements and the way they acted as positive ambassadors for our school community.
My sincere thanks to the wonderful volunteers of our P&F. We have had two significant fundraisers this term – our Kyton’s lamington and hot cross bun drive, and the Woolies Sausage sizzle. The figures aren’t yet in for the Hot Cross Buns, however the Sausage sizzle raised over $900 which is a fantastic outcome! Our next P&F meeting will be held on May 17 at 9am here at school – everyone is warmly welcome to attend.
On behalf of all the staff at St. Joseph’s Kingswood, I wish all families a safe and happy holiday and a happy and Holy Easter!
Hi everyone, as we wind up the first school term for 2019, it's a great opporunity to pause and celebrate the successes your child has had already this year. Each term is busy in its own way, but term 1 is particularly significant as children generally take some time to settle into the new routines of their new classrooms and develop relationships with their new teachers and peers. I know the students will enjoy a well-earned rest after the 11 weeks of term 1, and hope that Parents & Caregivers also find time to enjoy some relaxation and happy moments with your children. I'm looking forward to welcoming everyone back to Term 2, confident and ready to go.
Thank you for making the time to meet with our Teacher's last week. Feedback from the staff to me has been about how positive the conversations were and how supportive and engaged parents in this community are. Research has shown that being involved and caring about your child’s education leads to greater outcomes for your children. Here is a link to some further resources that you may find of interest.
Last week I went to Mary Mackillop Place in North Sydney for a retreat. It was a great experience and I learnt a lot of new information about Mary Mackillop but I also learnt a lot about Father Julian Tenison Woods who was the original founder of the Sisters of St Joseph’s with Mary. Father Julian was a priest and a scientist who cared deeply for the environment and marvelled at how all living things are connected. Besides this it was nice to not be connected to my phone and to spend some quality time with my Catholic Education colleagues. This is a photo of all of us on the day we were on a pilgrimage of the steps of Mary Mackillop in Sydney. This was the place of her first burial after she died in 1909. She was moved 5 years later in 1914 to Mary Mackillop place. The second photo is her current tomb where thousands of people visit each year to visit and pray.
As you read this I am currently in Finland. This promises to be an amazing trip and I can’t wait to share with you some of my learning. I hope you all have a great holiday and I look forward to catching up with you next term.
Take care
Jamie
The latest event for Catholic Identity was last Friday: The Year 6 Reflection Day at Sophia Ecumenical Centre. The theme of the day was Love Your #Selfie. The main objective was to arm these young people with knowledge, awareness and skills to feel strong in themselves and surround themselves with positive people. In particular, we discussed the notion of beauty and how society, in particular; media, creates unfair and unattainable notions of physical appearance that are harmful. Through discussion, activities and positive media sources we established that we are all BEAUTIFUL already and we need to celebrate this unashamedly. It was a fantastic day, and we all came away feeling loved and appreciated.
The final event for the term is the long-awaited PASSION and EASTER PLAY being held on TUESDAY 9th April at 2.15pm in the Multipurpose Room. The Year 6s will feature again in this performance led by the talented Mary-Rose Coghlan, our Drama teacher. EXTRA special thanks go to her, for her hard work in writing and putting up this production.
Easter Mass will then take place on the first Friday, 3rd May (Term 2 Week 1) at 9.15am. We encourage you all to join us to celebrate this very special event in our Catholic Faith. In the meantime, please remember that we are not going to be sharing Easter Eggs/Gifts or Easter Activities this term. We want to keep with the solemnity of the Lent Season, and look forward to lots of fun in Week 1 of Term 2.
Many blessings for this last week of term. I wish you all a restful and safe break.
CHRISTINE FARRUGIA
APRIM
Volleyball
Congratulations to all 4 St Joseph's Kingswood Summer Season volleyball teams for making the semi-finals.
Please note we are able to participate in the Winter season too. If your child is interested, complete the form ASAP.
DIVISION 1
St Joseph's Kingswood 2 finished 2nd
St Joseph's Kingswood Giants finished 3rd
DIVISION 2
St Joseph's Kingswood 3 finished 4th (in their first season)
DIVISION 3
St Joseph's Kingswood 4 finished 4th (in their first season)
SAPSASA Athletics
Year 2 - Basketball
Cricket
Swimming
Reminder that we now have a Music button on the SZapp homescreen, which will be updated with relevant forms and info relating the many ways our students do and can participate in learning Music at St Joseph's Kingswood.
On Monday last week we had a visit from Denise Rothall who is the coordinator of the Catholic Music Festival Choir. We all had fun learning choreography for one of our favourite songs “I've Lost My Homework”.
Please remember to check SZapp for information about downloading the audio tracks and completing the Media Consent form.
Steph Insanally
Friday 12th April is the last day of school and we are having a casual clothes day.
Please bring a gold coin donation. We have decided to donate funds to (Principal at St John the Baptist) Todd Murfitt's treatment for early onset Parkinsons. For more information, click here.
As promised earlier this term, we are pleased to be rolling out Permission Slips to SZapp from Term 2. This is great for parents, teachers and the environment alike - as you can simply complete the form on your phone from wherever you are. There is already a permission slip live on the Forms & Permission Slips button (on the SZapp home screen) that covers local, community (walking distance) excursions for the remainder of 2019. Excursions further abroad (e.g. Canberra trip) will still require specific permission to be given and we will communicate when there is a form to be completed.
Any queries, please don't hesitate to come and see the Front Office.
